The Salem Starch and Sago Manufacturers Service Industrial Cooperative Society Ltd (popularly called as SAGOSERVE) received Geographical indication tag or GI tag for Salem sago recently.
Key points
- The Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Salem sago (Javvarisi) will boost the product to hit international market.
- Sago, derived from raw tapiocas, is in the form of small hard globules or pearls and is pearl white in colour.
- Tapioca is a major horticulture crop cultivated on nearly 3 lakh hectares in Tamil Nadu, producing 60 lakhs tonnes of the crop.
- Sago was produced first in Salem district, which is the main centre for sago production in the country, on a cottage scale basis.
- Sago is manufactured from the wet starch powder crushed from tapioca roots.
- Unlike ISO certification, the GI tag is a legal protection for the intellectual property of Sago’s forefathers.
GI Tag
- The term Geographical Indications are defined under Article 22 (1) of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
- The Paris Convention for the protection of Industrial Property, 1883, under Article 1(2) and Article 10, provides the framework for the protection and safeguarding rules for Geographical Indication.
- Any producer, whether an individual, a group of people, an organisation, or a legal entity, may apply for a GI tag.
- The application must be submitted to the relevant authorities in the correct format and with the appropriate charge.
- A Geographical Indication tag is only valid for ten years, but it can be periodically renewed for an additional ten years each through subsequent renewals.
